Broken Core [LitRPG • Cultivation • Post Apocalyptic • Romance]

James panned his gaze over the upper sect as Jamie led them through the straight streets. Large and small homes made from smooth stone and unblemished edges, dominated the area. After a few minutes, the buildings transitioned to training yards and lecture halls. The sprawling structures showcased murals and ornate design, embedded into their craftsmanship. Mender pointed out a hospital that he occasionally worked at before Jamie snarled at him and picked up her pace.

"We aren't here to talk about your hospital!" she snapped.

Mender raised his hands in defense with wide eyes.

Glancing at Luna, James found her looking bored while also observing all of the cultivators watching them. Word had spread quickly that they had met with Elder Bo and were now wandering the sect. Whispers about their cultivation were in question and Luna wasn't happy.

Stopping them, James took Luna's hand. "Why don't you go find us an inn? Mender can go with you and come find us afterwards."

Luna nodded right away, looking relieved. "I'd prefer that. Mender can pay for now." When her soul brushed his, he felt her thanks.

"I can?" the healer questioned.

Growling, Luna glared at the man.

Gulping, Mender turned back towards the entrance. "Let's go! I'll leave the inn to your discretion."

Glancing at James, Luna frowned. Before she could dart away, he pulled her in for a kiss that left her face aflame as she punched his arm.

Laughing, James ignored all of the stares they were receiving. "Pick somewhere that you will be comfortable."

"I will," she muttered. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't hide that her soul was ecstatic to be kissed by him.

Letting her go, he watched as she scurried away as quickly as Mender would walk. Jamie turned to him with crossed arms, her expression sour. "Are you ready?" she questioned.

"Yes." Smiling, he waited until she started walking. "How much further?"

"A bit. I'm not exactly high standing." Sighing, Jamie kept her arms crossed as they made their way to the workshops. The walk was long and just as they were entering, Jamie stopped and turned them into a large building. "Master should be in."

Rubbing his cheek, James followed. Stepping inside behind Jamie, he scanned the workshop. The place was more of a storefront than workshop with wares displayed on shelves. Rings, necklaces, weapons of all sorts, and even armor was all enchanted with earth Qi and radiated power.

The counter had a slip of a woman in brown robes sitting with her elbows on the counter and her head resting on her hands. With plain blonde hair that curled over her shoulders, she was the epitome of bored.

"Is the master in?" Jamie asked.

The woman glanced at them before her eyes widen upon finding James. Waving, James didn't say anything as he stepped up to Jamie's side.

"Mary?" Jamie questioned.

Blinking a few times, Mary smiled. "I'll check." Not taking her eyes off James, she leaned into the back door and shouted. "Master! Are you in?"

A grumbling reply came a moment later. "What is it, Mary?"

"Your apprentice is here with a delicious looking man!" She even licked her lips, not breaking eye contact.

Chuckling, James didn't respond. Jamie glared at the woman before clearing her throat. "He's taken!"

"By you?" Mary asked with a smirk.

Jamie scowled. "No. But his wife won't take kindly to you flirting. You may have heard of the altercation earlier?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"With the elder?" Mary asked, her eyes wide.

"Yup."

"The demi-human is his wife?" Mary met James's eye with renewed interest.

"She is," James answered. "Anyway, we have a new product to show the master."

Thankfully, the old man himself stepped out of the back with an angry expression a moment later. "Why are you interrupting me, Jamie?" Even for a cultivator with a solid core, he was old. His gray hair was clean cut at least.

Jamie promptly pulled the ring off her finger and held it up. "James made this. With my help of course."

Inching forward with wide eyes, the master looked from the ring to James and then back. "You made this?" Taking the ring, he held it up. "White veins of power. Some sort of energy I don't recognize. The enchantment is sound and stable." Slipping it on, his jaw dropped. "It purifies all Qi and converts it to mine!"

Mary leaned forward. "Is that possible?"

"No," the master stated. "It's not…"

James whistled innocently.

"How did you make this?" the master asked.

Jamie elbowed James before speaking up. "James here decided to break the laws of understanding after I started training him. We have more ideas, but we need materials and money. James came without a coin to his name."

"I'll gladly pay for this ring." The master turned to Mary. "Prepare fifty gold coins for them."

Jamie's jaw dropped. Pulling out two more, she held them up. "I have more…"

The master quickly took them. "Do you want supplies or coin?"

"Supplies," James said. "We are going to her workshop next but we will likely be crafting down in the city."

Nodding in understanding, the man held out his hand. "Master Marion. I'll have rings and necklaces sent to her workshop. Can you do armor or weapons?"

James took the hand and glanced at Jamie. "Can I?"

Frowning, Jamie rubbed her chin. "I'll teach him some basics. That's all it takes before he breaks the rules."

"Yes, yes!" Turning back to Mary, Marion said, "I need you to run down to the city and procure one hundred gold worth of weapons, armor, rings, and necklaces for them to work on."

Mary's eyes widened. "Yes, Master!" Hurrying out from behind the counter, she handed over a sack of coins. "Here's your payment!"

Taking the sack, James added it to his storage, simply making it disappear. Bowing in respect, he thanked the master. "We'll finish the experiments in the next few days. Right, Jamie?"

Jamie nodded right away. "James will be crafting all of them. His technique is unique."

Humming, Master Marion looked at the ring again. "Have you locked this man down yet, Jamie?"

Blushing, Jamie shook her head. "He's married, Master. Besides, he's more big brother material than romantic. He's an airhead at times."

"Hey!" James protested. "That wasn't nice!"

Raising her brow, she asked, "who was the one that didn't know what farmland looked like?"

Pursing his lips, James turned away. "If I'm your big brother, than I need to beat some sense into you."

Laughing, Jamie patted his arm. "It's okay, James. Let your little sister teach you the things you were too spoiled to learn. Some of us actually worked for a living."

Marion chuckled. "There's a story here I'm most curious about. Alas, I need to finish my experiment. Bring by the items and I'll sell them for you. Maybe we can sit down for a drink afterwards."

Beaming, Jamie pulled on James's sleeve. "Did you hear that. We'll be able to pick the Master's brain for ideas."

Perking up, James smiled. "I'll agree with that. But only after I prove that I'm better than Jamie."

Scoffing, Jamie let him go to cross her arms. "We'll see. We need to find the city tannery."

"For what?" Marion asked.

James summoned a small piece of the dragon hide. "This."

Eyes wide, Marion took the hide. "It doesn't have scales, but this is dragon hide…" Turning to James, he asked, "did you really take one down?"

"I did. Have plenty of hide to work with if I can get it properly tanned. I'll likely spend the day learning the process."

Handing back the piece of hide, Marion rubbed his chin. "There are a few tanneries on the eastern side of the city. The demi-human population work them, so they may not help you. Then again, you are a cultivator…"

"It'll be fine," James said with a chuckle. "I'll work out a deal with them."

Jamie pulled on his sleeve. "Let's go, James. I want to show you my workshop still and then we can go down to the city."

"Yeah, yeah." Waving her off, he bowed to Master Marion. "We'll be back in a few days."

Bowing in return, Marion bid them farewell before heading back to his own workshop. With their business concluded, Jamie hurried them down the street.

Slowly, the buildings started to look worn down and at the very end, Jamie stopped them outside a workshop that had more cracks running through its stone that wasn't healthy.

"Why haven't you repaired this place?" James asked.

Frowning, Jamie slunk to the door. "I'm not good at mending with my Qi. I can enchant my weapons and arrows for extra damage, but something like this is beyond my ability."

Nodding, he dropped the subject. Following her through the wooden door, he smiled. The space was far larger than he expected. A worktable was on the far side. The living space had a stove, bed, and even a small table. In the back was an extra room for the storage of food and supplies. It was completely empty.

"This is home!" she chirped. "We'll be here quite a bit over the next few days."

Chuckling at her excitement, he walked over to the worktable. Different styluses were resting on the side while a clean workspace was ready for the cultivator.

"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "Shall we head down and find the tannery? We can leave a note for Mender. But I'm sure I can find Luna without issue if she is in the city."

"Yup, yup!" Pulling out paper and pen, she jotted down a quick note and stuck it to her door. "All done! You're buying dinner."

"Figured…" he mumbled.